A large part of any SUV’s appeal is its practicality and the second-generation Volkswagen Tiguan is no exception in this respect.
Depending on the specification you choose you’ll find an assortment of storage pockets and cubbies from dash-top lidded ones to drawers under the front seats.
It’s not only where you can carry things, but how they’re stowed. Many Tiguans have a front passenger seat which folds completely over to enable longer items to be swallowed with ease. It’s a really useful feature and complements the 40:20:40 split-folding rear-seat arrangement.
That’s not the back seat’s only trick: in a 60:40 split, the seat base slides forwards and back, increasing the Tiguan’s boot volume from 520 litres to 615 litres in the process.
It’s worth noting, however, that models fitted with the eHybrid powertrain lose a large chunk of boot space – bringing that load area down to 476 litres. That’s because the location of the batteries under the rear seats has necessitated the re-siting of the petrol tank below the boot floor.
Fold the seats over, creating a near-flat load area, and the VW still leads those key rivals: its 1,655-litre capacity trumps the X1 (1,550 litres), Sportage (1,492 litres), Qashqai (1,585 litres) and Kadjar (1,478 litres).
In fact, there’s precious-little we can fault the Tiguan on, practicality-wise, save for how fresh some of the lighter-hued fabric interior trims might remain once they’ve spent a few months running the gauntlet of family life.
Safety
Five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating
Pop-up bonnet for pedestrian protection
Raft of additional safety gear available
Safety is a key consideration when buying an SUV as a family car and the Volkswagen Tiguan is packed with a wealth of standard features, as well as several optional ones, to maintain the security of its occupants. It received a full five-star rating from Euro NCAP when it was tested in 2016.
All Tiguans come complete with seven airbags – including one for the driver’s knee – as well as a raft of electronic safety aids, such as autonomous emergency braking, reducing the likelihood of you having to experience any of them being deployed.
Pedestrians are offered a further degree of protection thanks to active bonnet mounts which lift the body panel up and away from the engine in the event of a frontal collision.
Depending on the specification chosen, additional safety kit will either be standard or optional at extra cost, including a very effective adaptive cruise control system, a head-up display pod which is a paragon of clarity, automatic main beam for the LED headlamps and various alerts for changing lanes without indicating or reversing out into oncoming traffic.
Basic equipment
The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Volkswagen Tiguan.
3x3 point rear seat belts
ABS
Alarm
Alloy wheels
Body coloured bumpers
Cloth seat trim
Driver`s airbag
Electric mirrors
Folding rear seats
Front electric windows
Isofix child seat anchor points
Passenger`s airbag
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Service indicator
Side airbags
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Equipment by trim level
To view equipment options for a specific trim level, please select from the following list:
Equipment included on some trim levels
Air conditioning
Audio remote
CD
Central locking
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Front fog lights
Headlight washers
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Manual sunroof
Parking sensors
Partial leather seat trim
PAS
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
Sports seats
Traction control
Standard Trim equipment
Standard Trim standard equipment
Air conditioning
Audio remote
Central locking
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
PAS
Sat Nav
Standard Trim optional equipment
None available
Elegance equipment
Elegance standard equipment
Central locking
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Manual sunroof
Parking sensors
PAS
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Elegance optional equipment
None available
Life equipment
Life standard equipment
Central locking
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
PAS
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Life optional equipment
Audio remote
Match equipment
Match standard equipment
Audio remote
CD
Cruise control
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
PAS
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
Traction control
Match optional equipment
None available
Moda equipment
Moda standard equipment
Air conditioning
CD
Cruise control
Front fog lights
Headlight washers
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
PAS
Sports seats
Traction control
Moda optional equipment
None available
R Line equipment
R Line standard equipment
Heated seats
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
PAS
Roof rails
Sat Nav
R Line optional equipment
Audio remote
CD
Central locking
Electric sunroof
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Space saver spare wheel
Traction control
R Line Tech equipment
R Line Tech standard equipment
Audio remote
CD
Electric sunroof
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
PAS
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Traction control
R Line Tech optional equipment
Space saver spare wheel
R-Line equipment
R-Line standard equipment
Audio remote
CD
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
Traction control
R-Line optional equipment
Partial leather seat trim
PAS
S equipment
S standard equipment
Air conditioning
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
PAS
Roof rails
Space saver spare wheel
Traction control
S optional equipment
CD
SE equipment
SE standard equipment
Audio remote
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
PAS
Roof rails
Space saver spare wheel
Traction control
SE optional equipment
CD
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
SE Nav equipment
SE Nav standard equipment
Audio remote
CD
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
PAS
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
Traction control
SE Nav optional equipment
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
SEL equipment
SEL standard equipment
Audio remote
CD
Electric sunroof
Front fog lights
Heated mirrors
Heated seats
Height adjustable drivers seat
Lumbar support
Parking sensors
Roof rails
Sat Nav
Space saver spare wheel
Traction control
SEL optional equipment
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
PAS
Euro NCAP Rating – 5 stars
The Volkswagen Tiguan was tested by Euro NCAP in 2016 and was awarded a 5 star overall rating.
This overall rating is calculated from the following individual ratings:
Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.
The safety ratings are determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by Euro NCAP.
These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.